49ers Accentuate a Positive: Free Safety Bronson Is Back

Nancy Gay, Chronicle Staff Writer

Published 4:00 am, Thursday, November 9, 2000

Three days after the 49ers surrendered 167 yards to New Orleans wideout Joe Horn -- the 10th time this season they have allowed a receiver 100-plus yards -- their beleaguered secondary got a boost with the return of one of its few veterans.

Zack Bronson joined the first unit in practice yesterday after doctors on Tuesday cleared him to return to full contact. Bronson, a fourth-year safety, has been inactive for seven games this season, including the past six, because of nerve damage near the C-7 vertebra in his neck.

His return would provide the NFL's worst defense some badly needed experience. And his expected start at free safety in Sunday's 1:05 p.m. game against the 5-4 Kansas City Chiefs would mean this year's 49ers secondary has officially reached the dubious mark made famous by the 1999 group: Seven starting combinations.

The six starting combinations in the secondary through the first 10 games have included four free safeties. The 2-8 49ers have not used the same four players in their secondary more than three weeks in a row.

"Our plan right now is to get Zack back in the mix as long as he can play," defensive coordinator Jim Mora said. "He's a true free safety. In his four years he's given us real good play at free safety, especially in our nickel defense.

"You need a savvy guy back there who's got some range, and he gives us that."

Glaring errors were the theme of the day the 49ers' 31-15 loss at New Orleans, in which the defense surrendered 28 first-half points. Though the rookie cornerbacks, Ahmed Plummer and Jason Webster, took their share of flak for soft coverage, second-year safety Pierson Prioleau was late to help on more than one occasion.

To be fair, Prioleau -- a strong safety who camped out near the line of scrimmage during his college career at Virginia Tech -- has been playing out of position.

"People know that, and that puts a burden on your cornerbacks," Mora said. "Here's a corner who thinks, 'I've got help on the post -- I'm going to hang outside.' But (the help) isn't there and it looks bad for the corner, when it's not the corner."

"The plays already have been drastically cut down," he said. "The plays are so simple right now, anybody can see that -- you guys can see the defenses that we're playing. That's how simple the game plan is. What more can you do but execute it better?"

Bronson said a hit he sustained during the Week 2 game against Carolina on Sept. 10 caused a nerve in his neck to stretch, affecting his left shoulder, and causing pain and tingling through his left triceps. But weeks of inactivity have only strengthened his resolve to get back on the field.

'"Every week I've gotten better and I'm at the point where I'm ready to play," said Bronson, who has 10 tackles in three appearances this season. "I'm motivated. It was part of my mental mind-set as I watched these guys every Sunday, not being able to contribute. I want to add something. I'm ready to lend a hand and help this team."

Dismayed by the Saints' eventual 31-0 head start, Mora has lectured his group this week on the importance of getting off to a good start against the Chiefs.

"We weren't able to do that Sunday (against the Saints) and they were -- they had their first sellout, they were jacked up and we didn't make the plays early to turn the tide," Mora said. "And the tide turned on us.

"We couldn't turn the tide until the second half, but by then it was too late."

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Mora, admittedly a glass-is-half- full kind of guy, emphasized that he was encouraged to see his defense hold the Saints to a field goal in the second half.

"They could have completely laid down -- we were in a dank, dingy, crappy locker room and it's a dismal situation. But they came out and they played their asses off in the second half, and I was proud of that," Mora said. "It was just too little, too late."

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